"It will take a lot" - Ray Parlour urges Middlesbrough to avoid Hayden Hackney transfer situation | OneFootball

The midfielder was being watched by multiple clubs in the top flight over the summer.

The 2024/25 campaign has so far been one of inconsistency for Middlesbrough.

Michael Carrick's side have won four of their first nine games this season, dropping points to clubs lower down the division such as Derby County, Preston North End and Portsmouth.

However, the squad that the former Manchester United midfielder has at his disposal is extremely talented, and one that they strengthened in the summer. But incomings were not the only issue that needed to be sorted, as Boro had, and still do have, a host of superb footballers at the club, including Hayden Hackney.

The midfielder was the subject of Premier League interest in the transfer window, with both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Forest scouts keeping an eye on him during Middlesbrough's opening games of the season.

Since then, Hackney has been linked with a move to Champions League side Aston Villa. Football Insider have reported that Unai Emery's team are looking at a deal to bring the 22-year-old in during the January transfer window, before loaning him back to the Championship to see out 2024/25.

Ray Parlour tells Middlesbrough not to sell Hackney

While it may be a fantastic opportunity on paper for the Redcar-born star, it perhaps is not a move that he needs to make at this point in his career, with opportunities in the Villa starting XI likely to be at a premium.

He has made nearly 80 appearances in the senior team at the Riverside since making his debut in 2021, and is now one of the first names on the teamsheet.

With Hackney held in such high regard in the north-east, ex-Arsenal and Middlesbrough midfielder, Ray Parlour, has told his former club to keep hold of the 22-year-old and instead look to bring in more firepower up front.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, he said: "When your ambitions are to get promoted, you can’t let good players leave, especially in January.

"You must look to keep them and review at the end of the season. Fee-wise; it will take a lot as Boro don’t want to let him leave."

He added: “I always believe you need plenty of strikers with so many games in the Championship and strikers can win matches. So to strengthen in that area could be good for Boro."

Hackney can create his own legacy at Middlesbrough

At such a young age, it is clear that Hackney has a very good career ahead of him, and it is also one that he does not need to spoil so early on.

Countless players have made the jump from the Championship to the top-half of the Premier League and have struggled to maintain the standards that they have set themselves previously.

Middlesbrough will also face a tough January in other positions, most namely up front. Emmanuel Latte Lath looked destined to leave the Riverside in the summer, with both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town linked, and although he pushed for a move to the Tractor Boys, it did not come off.

He has failed to carry his goalscoring form over from last season, and has found the back of the net in the Championship just once so far, meaning that it is vital that Boro find a striker who will start firing. A situation involving Hackney could distract from their true desire of signing a forward, and disrupt what still could be a very positive campaign for Carrick's team.